Newly crowned SA Rugby Player of the Year Eben Etzebeth says the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ sights are set on finishing their campaign as strongly as possible as they gear up to face Ulster on Saturday.
John Plumtree’s men host the Northern Irish outfit at Hollywoodbets Kings Park while sitting rock bottom of the URC standings with just one win from 11 matches in the competition.
Looking ahead to the battle on the weekend, the 119 Test-capped Springbok, who recently picked up the SA Rugby Player of the Year for the second year in a row, admitted the current campaign hasn’t quite gone according to plan but stressed that there were still goals to achieve.
“We haven’t had a good season so far,” said Etzebeth. “There are no excuses really, we just need to look at ourselves as individuals and as a collective. I do think we work hard and there are plans in place, but somehow we’re not executing it which is disappointing.
“We’ll look to rectify that for the rest of the season. We’ve got a couple of home games left and we’ll target that. One of the targets is the Challenge Cup and to see if we can go far in that competition and make the last part of the season a successful one.”
The Durbanites face Zebre in the Challenge Cup round of 16 on 7 April looking to push hard for silverware and to earn Champions Cup qualification. The 32-year-old admitted that his side’s URC race is run but underlined the value of playing for pride from here on out.
“I don’t think a top-eight finish in the URC is possible anymore, which is disappointing at this stage of the season already, but we’re looking to end strong. There’s always going to be pride to wear the Sharks jersey and to win games, and I think that’s going to motivate the guys not to give up.”
Ulster are fifth on the log and look set to be right in the thick of it come play-off time. Although they remain a quality outfit, Etzebeth is quietly confident in his own team’s abilities following the inclusion of several returning personnel for the men in black and white.
“It’s the first time this season that we’ve got most of our players playing. I think it’s Vincent’s [Koch’s] first game back [since the 2023 World Cup] and as a collective, it’s probably the strongest 23 we could have picked.
“I think it will be a boost to have everyone back.”
Kick-off is at 3pm.
